Ingot tilter



Oct. 10, 1933. E. DE DONATO INGOT TILTER Filed Aug. 9. 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII/ lNVE NTOR Oct. 10, 1933. E. DE DONATO INGOT TILTER Filed Aug. 9. 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 wnusssss Patented Oct. 10, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application August 9, 1933, Serial No. 684,385,

' and in Germany July 1, 1932 7 Claims. (CI. 80-48)- direction only, the bottoms of such tilters being so constructed that they obstructed the movement of the ingot in the other direction.

In some early tilters, however, two pots were provided, one of which was capable of tilting an ingot in one direction and the other of tilting it in the opposite direction. These, however, were rather complicated as compared with the single pot tilters, and like the latter they always delivered the ingot with the same end forward, which is frequently objectionable, as conditions often occur which render it desirable to enter the opposite end of the ingot in the mill.

To overcome these difficulties double pot tilters having a central wall in them were developed which are capable of tilting an ingot in either direction and with which an ingot may be made to approach the mill with either the top or the bottom end leading, and which in addition are capable of bringing the ingot back to a vertical position which is desirable in the event it is necessary to reheat the ingot.

In such typeof tilters, however, the lower end.

of the ingot is delivered directly onto the rolls of the roll table, and as a result it is necessary to stop the roll table at the time the ingot is placed on it. Because of this it often happens that the ingot transferring apparatus or crane must be held up until the previous ingot is rolled from the table before it can be deposited, as the table on which the table is mounted is usually required to operate in conjunction with the reversing mill tables.

Another construction used for handling ingots in the aforementioned fashion is the well-known tilting apron. ,This is adapted to receive an ingot of all of the aforementioned faults, being adapted 5 to receive ingots independently of the movement of the feed table in which itis mounted, to deposit the ingot on the table in either direction with either end forward, and to up-end the ingot after it has been lowered onto the table.

Another object is to provide a tilter which can be moved entirely out of the way of the material on the table when it is not in use.

These and various other objects, as well as the various other novel features and advantages of the invention, will be apparent when the following detailed discussion is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which Fig. 1 is a sectional view taken on the line I-I of Fig. 3 showing a roll table and an ingot tilter construot- I ed in accordance with my invention with the tilter in its vertical position; Fig. 2 a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the tilter in its lowered position; Fig. 3 a plan view showing the tilter and roll table as well as the roll drive and the apparatus for oscillating the tilter; Fig. 4 a view similar to Fig. 1 of another embodiment of the invention; and Fig. 5- a plan view of the tilting frame I shown in Fig. 4.

In accordance with my invention as illustrated in these drawings, an ingot tilter is provided which comprises a tilting frame 1 that is pivotally mounted on a shaft 11 supported in a roll table 12 betweena pair of rolls 6 of the table which are spaced sufficiently far apart to accommodate the frame. As shown this frame consists of a pair of side arms 13 which are spaced sufficient- 1y to span the rolls 6 of the roll table and connected together at their free end which projects above the table by a cross-beam 14. This beam is adapted to function as a rest for an ingot 8 when deposited on the tilter with the frame in its elevated position, and to fit between the rolls 6 of the table out of the path of the feeding plane when it is lowered to deposit an ingot on the table. '95

The side arms 13 of the frame are provided with oppositely projecting side flanges 16 which add to the strength of the frame, but more particularly provide side guards for preventing an ingot falling off the tilting frame when the ingot is rested against it on end. To allow the frame to rotate into the plane of the roll table, pockets 10 are formed in the edges of the flanges 16 to fit over the axis of the adjacent rolls 6 of the table. I

Keyed to the shaft 11 on which the tilting frame 1 is loosely mounted and between the side arms 13 there is a roll 2 which is arranged in alignment with the other rolls of the roll table both as to its ends and its upper surface. The

purpose of this roll is to complete the continuity of the roll table and to assist in starting the ingot 8 on its way to themill when it is laid flat, as shown in Fig. 2, on the roll table.

In order to make it unnecessary for the whole table to be stopped when an ingot is mounted on the tilter the roll 2 in the tilting frame is provided with an auxiliary releasable drive. For driving such roll from the main drive 18 of the table to which the other rolls 6 are connected as illustrated in Fig. 3, a train of gears 3, 4 and 5 is mounted to be driven from the end opposite the driven end of the roll 6 disposed immediately in front of the tilting frame 1, the first-mentioned of such gears being detachably connected to the shaft 11 on which the tilter roll 17 is keyed by releasable clutch 7.

To support the lower end of the ingot 8 out of contact with the roll 6 of the roll table when it.is mounted in an upright manner on the tilter, a pair of stationary" supports 9 is provided between the tilter roll 2 and the adjacent table rolls 6. To prevent these supports obstructing the roll table their upper ends are not projected quite to the surface of the supporting plane of the table, being slanted at their tops to support an ingot in an inclined fashion.

For manipulating the tilting frame to lower or raise an ingot into and out of the plane of the roll table, a gear 19 is secured to the side of the frame 1 on the shaft 11 and meshed with a gear rack 20 which is connected by a connecting rod 21 with an operating engine 22. With this arrangement, if the rack 20 is reciprocated, the tilting frame may be raised and lowered in opposite directions to lower or raise an ingot, or retained in an elevated position slightly 01f center to receive an ingot from a crane.

In operation the tilting frame 1 is actuated by the engine 22 to a substantially vertical position, although slightly inclined in the direction which it is desired to tilt an ingot onto the roll table, as shown in Fig. l, and held in such position to receive the ingot which is deposited by the crane on the support 9 on the opposite side of the tilting frame to which it is intended to lower the ingot onto the table. When the ingot is in place, the engine 22 is again operated to lower the ingot into the plane of the table, and the roll 2 is then set in operation by operating the clutch I to assist in starting the ingot into the mill, as well as to function as a part of the roll table while the tilting frame is disposed below the plane of the roll table.

In the same manner an ingot may be disposed 'on the table inthe opposite direction merely by inclining the tilting frame 1 in the opposite direction and depositing'the ingot on the-opposite support 9. Furthermore, in case an ingot is found to be insufficiently heated after it is placed on the table it may be re-elevated to a vertical position by moving it over the tilting frame and elevating such frame to its original vertical position. During such operation the supports 9 engage the lower end of the ingot and prevent it from moving over the table so that the frame 1 readily lifts it to its elevated position where it may be picked up by a crane.

Referring to the modification of the invention illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the pivotally mounted counterbalanced side guards 23 are provided at the upper ends of the tilting frame 10 for engagmg and preventing an ingot from sliding off the tilter when in its vertical position, being substitutedfcrthesideflangeslfidispensedwithin this form of the invention. The lower ends 24 of the pivoted guards 23 are made sufficiently heavy to normally assume a vertical position at all times. Consequently, as the tilting frame is rotated into the plane of the roll table, as shown in Fig. 1, the pivoted guards 23 are rotated relative to the frame 1 so that they are out of the plane of the table when in its lowered position. Consequently, the tilter when so constructed will not in any way interfere with the rolling of the material on the table, irrespective of whether it is wider than the rolls or not.

As shown in Fig. 5, a simple way of mounting the pivoted guards 23 is to extend a shaft 25 through the cross-piece 14a of the tilting frame 1a and secure the guards 23 to the ends of this shaft by means of suitable nuts 26.

To reiterate the advantages of this invention, it is exceedingly simple of construction, easy and dependable to operate, capable of tilting an ingot in either direction, and of elevating an ingot once it is placed upon the table without in any Way interfering with the normal operation of ,the roll table or requiring the table to be interrupted while an ingot is being placed on the tilter or delaying the operation of the transfer crane in the event an ingot is on the table at the time the crane reaches the tilter.

According to the provisions of the Patent Statutes, I have explained the principle and mode of operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim: I

1. An ingot tilter comprising a pair of spaced ingot supports, a shaft supported between said spaced supports, a tiltable ingot manipulating frame consisting of a cross piece and a pair of spaced side arms pivotally mounted on said shaft, a roll having an elevation slightly above said supports keyed to said shaft between said side arms, and means for retaining said frame in an inclined position between said supports to receive an ingot and for rotating it in opposite directions into and out of a plane tangential to said roll and parallel to the top of said supports.

2. In combination, a roll table including a series of rolls, and ingot tilter located'between certain of said rolls comprising a pair of spaced stationary ingot supporting bars, a shaft supported between said spaced supports, a tiltable ingot manipulating frame consisting of a pair of side arms pivotally mounted at one end on said shaft, an ingot supporting cross piece connecting said arms at their other ends, flanges on the sides of said arms for preventing an ingot sliding off the frame, and means for rotating said frame into and out of the plane of said roll table or for retaining it in an inclined position between said supports to receive an ingot and lowering the same from said bars to said table.

3. An ingot tilter comprising a pair of spaced ingot supports, a shaft supported between said spaced supports, a tiltable ingot manipulating frame consisting of a-pair of spaced side arms pivotally mounted at one end on said shaft, an ingot engaging cross piece connecting the other ends of said arms, a pair of pivotally mounted counter-balanced side guards connected to the upper ends of said side arms for preventing an ingot sliding off the frame when it is elevated and adapted to rotate to a position below the exposed face of the frame when lowered, and means for rotating said frame in opposite directions into and out of a plane disposed above said spaced supports or for retaining it in an inclined position between said supports to receive an ingot.

4. In combination, a roll table equipped with spaced rolls, an ingot-tilting apparatus mounted between two of said rolls comprising a supporting shaft mounted between said rolls in parallel relation therewith, a tilter roll having the same elevation as said table rolls keyed tosaid shaft, an ingot-manipulating frame mounted on said shaft for tiltably lowering an ingot in either direction from an upright position into the plane of said table, said frame being provided at its upper end with means for supporting an ingot, a pair of stationary supports arranged on opposite sides of said tilter rolls for engaging the end of an ingot in such position, and means for manipulating said tilting frame.

5. In combination, a roll table equipped with spaced rolls, an ingottilting apparatus mounted between two of said rolls comprising a supporting shaft mounted in parallel relation with said rolls, a tilter roll having the same elevation as said table rolls keyed to said shaft, an ingot-manipulating frame mounted on said shaft concentrically with said roll for rotation in opposite directions into and out of the plane of said table, said frame being provided at its upper end with means for supporting an ingot in an upright position, a pair of stationary supports arranged on opposite sides of said tilter roll slightly below the surface of said table for engaging the end of an ingot when disposed thereon in an upright position, means for manipulating said tilting frame, means for driving said table rolls, and means connected to said table rolls for selectively driving said tilter roll.

6. In combination, a roll table equipped with spaced rolls, an ingot-tilting apparatus arranged between two of said rolls comprising a supporting shaft mounted in parallel relation with said rolls, a tilter roll having the same elevation as said table rolls keyed to said shaft, an ingot-manipulating frame consisting of a pair of spaced side arms provided at their upper ends with a crosspiece and pivotally mounted at their lower ends on saidv shaft opposite the ends of said tilter roll, means on said side arms for preventing an ingot from sliding off the tilter frame, a pair of stationary supports arranged on opposite sides of said tilter roll for engaging-the end of an ingot when placed thereon in an upright position, means for manipulating said tilting frame; and means connected to said table rolls for selectively driving said tilter roll.

'7. In combination, a roll table equipped with spaced rolls, an ingot-tilting apparatus arranged between two of said rolls and comprising a supporting shaft mounted in parallel relation be tween said rolls, a tilter roll having the same elevation as said table rolls keyed to said shaft, i

an ingot-manipulating frame mounted on said shaft for rotation in opposite directions into and out of the plane of said table, said frame being provided at its upper end with means for supporting an ingot in an upright position, a pair of stationary supports arranged on opposite sides of said tilter roll slightly below the surface of the table for engaging the end of an ingot and supporting it out of contact with the table when rested against said frame in an inclined manner, means for manipulating said frame, means for driving said table rolls, and a clutch for connecting said tilter roll to said table roll driving means.

EMILE n2: DONATO. 

